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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. rash — hasty
  3. key — in music
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rash — a series
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — the tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spring — the season
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. file — a line of people
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a document
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a tool
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — for a lock

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com